Food products are commonly enrobed by an ingredient spray. Ingredients that are applied in this way, often in form of a slurry, include, for example, chocolate and a variety of coatings for chips.
Spraying is conventionally accomplished by a nozzle having an inner orifice through which the ingredient passes and an outer orifice through which low pressure spray air from a blower is supplied. Clogging of such nozzles often presents a problem that is generally attributable to the low pressure of the spray air, the high viscosity of the ingredient, and, many times, the non-uniformity of the ingredient, especially when it is in the form of a slurry.
Clogging of a nozzle in an automated food processing operation can cause a large quantity of food to be improperly sprayed or not sprayed at all. Moreover, when certain ingredients are sprayed it is necessary to interrupt the spraying process for frequent cleaning, which may require extensive disassembly of the apparatus. Intermittent clogging may still occur necessitating further down time.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for the spray of food ingredients that includes internal self-cleaning provisions, thereby reducing or eliminating the need to disassemble and clean the apparatus manually. A further objective is to provide such an apparatus that can be easily maintained and disassembled in minimum time when required. A further objective is to provide such an apparatus that can be unclogged or cleaned either manually or automatically as desired.